Hello. My son (and I confirmed) claims there's a slight vibration in the steering wheel while making a left and right hand turn (not from a stop) but while in motion. He says there's a noise as well but that I don't hear it,, yet. There isn't any "knocking" or "shimmy-ing" feeling in the vehicle, just in the wheel. Doesn't seem to very noticeably pull one way or another when driving straight. This is a stock '96 4runner. Any thoughts? Things to be concerned about? Thanks for your time. Regards.

 

Usually brakes/braking causes the steering wheel to shake, at turns with no braking makes me lean towards tires, try rotating the tires front to back and see if it goes away, or examine the tires for cupping, uneven wear or sidewall defects. Noise increase while turning in motion like off ramps makes me think front wheel bearing but they don't cause wheel shake,.. unless they completely fail and vibrate the entire front of the vehicle. Hard to say without driving it, could be a slightly sticky caliber that once heated causes a shimmy in the rotor, but again turning is unrealated in that case.

 

Thank you. Just to clarify (I don't want my original post to sound so horrible) the steering wheel doesn't shake, just a minor vibration. The tires look great, no signs of uneven wear or defects. Pretty confident it's not the bearing and I say that only because we had to replace (in the summer) the rear passenger bearing and that "feel" was considerably different.

I did hear the "noise" this morning; it's a "whining" sound (but not overly loud) which occurs in the turn itself. I was hoping for something simple like power steering fluid. No, I haven't yet looked into that- the thought came to me late last night. Speaking of, if it is power steering fluid, which is the best to use? I've researched some threads here and it got confusing to be honest. Just want to use what's considered the standard/most common.

Again, appreciate any comments.

 

I had that issue with my '99 Tacoma. A whining sound (that I also felt) while turning while in motion.

I had the truck in the shop for something else, and I commented on it.
There is a filter screen inside the power steering pump reservoir that can get clogged with crud,
preventing full flow of PS fluid. The mechanic removed the reservoir and cleaned it, solving the problem.

He did not charge me for that simple job,.

 

Whining is generally power steering related. As stated it could be a flow issue with the screen in the reservoir. It could just be bad fluid too. It could also be the steering rack guide that is worn and allowing too much slack.

i would start with fresh power steering fluid and a good flush of the system. Then go from there for more intense repairs.